Automated listing management

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a sales system for lots of items that includes business rule definition logic. The sales system also includes offering creation logic that is operative to dynamically create different offerings for items in the lots. The offering creation logic optimizes return based on one or more of the business rules by using different offering parameter values for the different offerings.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/201,586 filed Jul. 22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,883,002, whichapplication claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/306,828 filed on Jul. 20, 2001, whichapplications are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material thatis subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objectionto the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patentdisclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent fileor records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.Copyright FairMarket, Inc. 2001, 2002.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to systems capable of managing surplus inventory,such as systems that optimize price for surplus goods or services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are a variety of different types of network-based sales systemsnow in existence. A number of these implement the traditional Englishauction. This mechanism efficiently allocates individual lots byawarding them to the buyers who attribute the most value to them. ButEnglish auctions are not necessarily an optimum mechanism for sellinglarger quantities of goods, such as seasonal retail items, overstock, ordiscontinued merchandise, and these types of goods are therefore oftensold using other types of electronic sales systems.

The simplest of these alternate systems strive to reproduce an in-storeshopping experience in which goods are offered for sale at a particularnon-negotiable markdown price. This approach requires sellers to gaugethe demand for their products so that they can determine a price that ishigh enough to allow them an acceptable return, but not so high that fewor no buyers will purchase them. This process can be difficult and timeconsuming, and may be too much so to be warranted for relatively smalllots of goods. And setting a particular price can also allow someindividuals who place a high value on an item to buy it for less thanthat value.

So-called Request-for-Proposal (RFP) systems allow buyers to place bids,which sellers can then choose to satisfy. These systems can allowsellers to provide the same goods to buyers who value them differentlyand thereby improve their profit levels. And although at least onesystem warns users against bids that are too low, such systems can bedaunting to some buyers because they must thoroughly understand thevalue and demand for the item, or risk submitting bids that are toohigh.

Falling-price systems drop the price of goods over time until they aresold. Buyers can commit to buy early, or wait for a lower price at therisk of losing the item. At least one such system allows a user to pay apremium to place firm bids for later days using a so-called buyer'sagent. Like RFP systems, falling-price systems can allow sellers toprovide the same goods to buyers who value them differently. But theycan also be daunting to some buyers, who must thoroughly understand thevalue and demand for the item, or risk submitting bids that are toohigh.

The network-based sales mechanisms described so far are by no means theonly ones currently available to buyers and sellers. Others includeDutch auctions, sealed bid auctions, and classifieds. But no single oneof all of these different mechanisms appears to present an optimumsolution for selling larger lots of goods, such as seasonal retailitems, overstock, or discontinued merchandise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one general aspect, the invention features a sales system for lots ofitems that includes business rule definition logic. The sales systemalso includes offering creation logic that is operative to dynamicallycreate different offerings for items in the lots. The offering creationlogic optimizes return based on one or more of the business rules byusing different offering parameter values for the different offerings.

In preferred embodiments, the business rule definition logic can beoperative to define rules based on a target cost recovery rate. Thebusiness rule definition logic can be responsive to user business rulecreation commands. The offering creation logic can be operative tooptimize return by adjusting lot price. The offering creation logic canbe operative to optimize return by adjusting lot quantity. The offeringcreation logic can be operative to create offerings for a plurality ofsales channels. The offering creation logic can be operative to adjustofferings on one of the sales channels based on results from another ofthe sales channels. The business rule definition logic can be operativeto create rules that are dependent on results from prior offerings. Thebusiness rule definition logic can be operative to create rules that aredependent on margins from prior offerings. The price offering creationlogic can be operative to create a series of auctions based onparameters determined by results from previous auctions. The businessrule definition logic can be operative to create offerings based onabsolute or relative amounts. The business rule definition logic canemploy a web-based interface. The business rules can be set on a SKU,category, and site level. The system can further include default salesparameter creation logic operative to set sales parameters for theofferings. The sales parameter creation logic can be operative to setbidding parameters for an auction. The price offering creation logic canuse exponential smoothing to derive parameters for the price offerings.The system can further include search logic operative to search foritems in the lots. The system can further include falling price defaultlogic operative to create fixed default falling price parameters. Thesystem can further include scheduled allocation logic operative tocreate a scheduled set of offerings with predetermined parameters. Thesystem can further include item display logic operative to displayinformation about items in each of the lots with controls that allow theuser to access the business rule definition logic for the item in thelot for which information is displayed. The system can further include aforecasting report generator operative to produce a report thatforecasts future operation of the offering creation logic.

In another general aspect, the invention features a sales system forlots of items that includes means for defining machine-readable businessrules and means for automatically creating a plurality of differentofferings for items in the lots based on the machine-readable businessrules defined by the means for defining. The means for automaticallycreating optimizes return based the machine-readable business rulesdefined by the means for defining using different offering parametervalues for the different offerings.

In a further general aspect, the invention features a method of sellinglots of items that includes defining machine-readable business rules andautomatically creating a plurality of different offerings for items inthe lots based on the machine-readable business rules. The step ofautomatically creating optimizes return based on the machine-readablebusiness rules defined in the step of defining using different offeringparameter values for the different offerings. Systems according to theinvention can be beneficial in that they allow for the creation of rulesthat can be used to automatically liquidate lots of items. Once therules are created, the user does not need to monitor the liquidationprocess any further. This makes the task of liquidating items morecost-effective than a manual approach might be. And rules may evenperform better than would a human defining listings based on his or hersubjective judgments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a block diagram generally illustrating the operation of anillustrative embodiment of a Surplus Inventory Management System (SIMS)according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is diagram illustrating an item or product page for the SIMS ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a defaults page for the SIMS of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a services page for the SIMS of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a search page for the SIMS of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative plot of listing quantity against listinghistory for the SIMS of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a business rules default page for theSIMS of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a business rules page for the SIMS ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an override control for the SIMS ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a reporting page for the SIMS of FIG.1;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an item page for an another embodimentof the SIMS system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a scheduled allocation page for theSIMS of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an item page for the SIMS of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an automatic listing settings page forthe SIMS of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an item or product editing page forthe SIMS of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a rules report page for the SIMS ofFIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

A Surplus Inventory Management System (SIMS) according to the inventionis a logic driven re-listing and inventory management engine designed tohandle all or some portion of the customer's excess inventory. Itoperates generally according to FIG. 1. SKU, pricing, images and copyare first extracted 14 from client databases 10, 12 into extract files16 that allow product information to be uploaded into the SIMS 20.Offerings are created and distributed 22 based on the SIMS and can besent to a sales site, such as an auction site 24. Fulfillmentinformation can then be extracted and used to update the SIMS and userand product information can be transferred to the client database 12.Cost recovery parameters can be managed separately 30 though the SIMS.

The SIMS preferably should allow one or more customers to allocatesurplus inventory into a centralized database that automatically relistsitems into an auction system, which can be run by an auction serviceprovider, based up a set of predefined business rules. Suitable auctionfunctionality is described in “Publishing System for Network-BasedSales,” filed Nov. 16, 1999, issued Ser. No. 09/441,385, which is thebasis for published PCT application no. PCT/US00/31542, entitled“Network-Based Sales System,” filed Nov. 16, 2000, which are both hereinincorporated by reference.

The SIMS preferably provides real-time reports and audits of upcominglistings as well as historical results of past listings. It alsopreferably displays a master scheduler report and exception report ofall upcoming customer listings (quantity, retail value, predicted sellvalue) by category and date to help plan inventory allocation andforecast future revenue.

Listing flexibility is important for the SIMS since not all inventoriesmay flow through the SIMS engine. Product data can be loaded into theSIMS database via text files, Microsoft Excel® files or an XMLinterface. A data validation procedure can ensure that the uploadcontains the proper fields and format. In this embodiment, the followingfields are provided for:

Required Fields—Each Row Must Contain the Following

SKU—A unique identifier for each product

Category—Used to roll up aggregate data for reporting

Quantity Available—Number of units available per SKU

Cost Per Unit—Cost value per SKU

Format—Auction, Falling Price

Optional Fields—Data May be Excluded; Excluded Information Will Defaultto by Site or Category

Image Reference

Description

Target Cost Recovery Rate—Ideal price each SKU should achieve.

Starting Quantity—Default quantity of listing by SKU. Will allow forhigher velocity of high inventory items.

Start Date

Starting Time

End Time

Bid Increment

Reserve Price

Rest Period—Days between Listing

Listing Logic—Allows the customer to override business rules and movelistings out in a linear fashion rather than iterating demand curve.

Fixed Quantity—If business rules are overridden this field will dictatethe number of items in each listing.

Referring to FIG. 2, in addition to mass upload, a Hypertext MarkupLanguage (HTML) interface can allow for manipulation by SKU. The HTMLinterface can provide (see also item page 34):

New SKU and Inventory combination

Updating Previous SKU and Inventory

Search

Add

Delete

Edit

In addition to auctions, the SIMS can support listings in other pricingformats. For example, referring to FIG. 3, the SIMS can logicallyallocate inventories using a falling price auction model (“plungingprices”) by using the format variable. The business rules can work inthe same manner as auctions. The SIMS can control the reserve price andquantity dependent on margins.

No additional information is required for these channels except forpredefined defaults. There can be a separate screen 36 to capture thisdefault information. To increase upload efficiency, plunging pricevariables can be derived from auction variables and the defaultsettings. This way, items can move between channels with the change ofjust the format parameter.

Fixed price listings can be managed through the same process. The fixedprice listing can be priced at some percent of cost and applied at theSKU, category, or site level. This channel can also be open to use othersystems, such as a demand based pricing engine described in “SalesSystem With Sales Activity Feedback,” Ser. No. 09/686,073, and “SalesSystem With Buyer Price Selection,” Ser. No. 09/685,449, both filed onOct. 11, 2000 and herein incorporated by reference.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the SIMS can also have the ability toautomatically move inventory into other channels 32 such as another webauction provider or B2B channels. The customer can have the samefulfillment process with the SIMS as before. The SIMS can use thatcurrent report to allocate/de-allocate inventory. No additional work isneeded to fulfill based on the SIMS listings.

The SIMS can have scheduling reports that forecast future lots,quantities and sales based on the most current information. For example,a lot of 100 camcorders that have a duration of one week, and assumingmovement of 10 units a week, would show 10 lots of quantity 10 for thenext ten weeks with the corresponding sales forecast. This should helpthe customer plan and schedule inventory more efficiently.

Referring to FIG. 4, the customer can interact with the SIMS via anadministrative back end that is also used for auctions, but alsoincludes an additional professional services link. Alternatively, thefunctionality could be provided in a dedicated software product. Theadministrative back end can provide a services page 38 that includeslinks for the SIMS, including a mass upload link, a search link, areporting link, and a manage business rules link.

Referring to FIG. 5, the customer can search for SIMS listings with asearch page 40 using the following criteria:

SKU

Quantity Available

Creation Date

Category

Target Cost Recovery Rate

Title

Each SKU can be editable in real-time by the following criteria:

Quantity Available

Target Cost Recovery

Start Time

End Time

Bid Increment

Rest Period

Pricing Format

Open listings may not be modified expect in standard methods (close alisting, description edits).

The rules engine can be set at the site, category or SKU level. Defaultswill be set by the same level structure such that any omitted field inthe business logic will default to the next highest level. For example,if the target cost recovery rate is omitted for a Panasonic camcorder,it will default to electronics' cost recovery rate. If that is omitted,it will default to the site cost recovery rates. All business rules willhave the same default logic resulting in rules that are as specific asnecessary.

Referring to FIG. 6, two modes are available. In a first mode (modeone), cost recovery of last listing will be used (see e.g., curve 42).In a second mode (mode two), exponential smoothing may be used ifnecessary (see, e.g., curve 44). Exponential smoothing eliminates therelative peaks and valleys of demands. It works by weighting pastresults with different coefficients to make less drastic changes in lotquantities.

A sample business objective could be to maximize total sales subject toinventory and a 50% cost-dollar recovery rate. This objective couldemploy the following business rules:

Starting bid is always $1

List duration is always 4 days

Auctions always start at 1:00 AM (EST) and end at 10:00 PM (EST)

If cost recovery is greater than 50%, then increase quantity of the nextlisting by 1

If cost recovery is between 42-50%, then keep quantity of next listingconstant

If cost recovery is less than 40%, then decrease quantity of nextlisting by 1

Based on the customer's empirical data of “8 pc. Venetian ScallopTowels-White,” for example, the SIMS could have produced the resultsshown in Tables 1 and 2.

TABLE 1 Quantity Item 1 2 3 8 pc. Venetian Scallop Towels - White 69.76%51.03% 41.22%

TABLE 2 Step Input SIMS Action 1. Upload nine (9) 8 pc. Create a testlisting of quantity 1. Venetian Scallop Allocate 1 unit to “reserve”status leaving Towels - White 8 units available in the SIMS. 2. Testlisting closes for De-allocate 1 unit from “reserve” status, 69.76% costrecovery. since item is sold. Evaluate cost recovery rate. Based onbusiness rules increase quantity to 2 units. Allocate 2 units to“reserve” status leaving 6 units available in the SIMS. Create a listingfor Qty 2. 3. Listing close for De-allocate 2 units from “reserve”status 51.03% cost recovery Evaluate cost recovery rate. Increasequantity to 3 units. Allocate 3 units to “reserve” status leaving 3units available in the SIMS. Create a listing for Qty 3. 4. Listingclose for De-allocate 3 units from “reserve” status. 41.22% costrecovery Evaluate cost recovery rate. Keep quantity of 3. Allocate 3units to “reserve” status leaving 0 units available in the SIMS. Createa listing for Qty 3. 5. Listing close for De-allocate 3 units from“reserve” status. 41.22% cost recovery Evaluate cost recovery rate. Keepquantity of 3. Check available quantity. No More Quantity. Stop.

Referring to FIG. 7, the customer can control the following variables bystatic input (i.e., no logic need be used to derive the settings), atthe SKU, category, and site level, using a business rules default page46.

Opening Time (Hour/Min)

Closing Time (Hour/Min)

Bid Increment

Opening Bid

Duration (Days)

Rest Period

Referring to FIG. 8, logic rules may be based on a set quantity andmargin relationship using a business rules page 48. The logic can be setat the SKU, category, or site level. Depending on the margin of one ormore previous listings, the size of the next lot will change by eitheran absolute number or a relative percentage.

In order to maintain control over inventory, a stop rule can allow thecustomer to stipulate a condition where no more listings will be placedby the SIMS. The system can report on these items individually. The stoprule should work under at least the following conditions: stop atpredetermined quantity, stop at target recovery rate, stop onpredetermined date. This feature is designed to help eliminate poorperforming inventory. These items may then be moved from the SIMS andliquidated at $0.30 on the cost dollar. Stop logic may be implemented towork at the site level only.

Referring to FIG. 9, in the event that a customer decides to move itemsout at certain velocity regardless of margins, the auction serviceprovider can provide override (linear quantity) functionality, which canbe accessed through an override control 50. For example, if there are10,000 SKUs, the customer may simply list 500 item lots over the next 20weeks at a default duration of one week each.

Referring to FIG. 10, to maintain the integrity of the SIMS both dailyaudit reports and customer request reports can be made available, suchas through a reporting page 52. Daily reports can be available by SKU,category, and site that detail the performance of previous day's closingitems. When the logic engine evaluates the next set of listingquantities, the margins should be stored in a flat file that can berolled up by category and site. An example report is shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Cost Recovery By Category By Day Base Category 6/1 6/2 6/3 6/46/5 6/6 6/7 6/8 6/9 6/10 Total Books 51% 50% 49% 48% 45% 50% 51% 60% 50%52% 51% computer 51% 51% 50% 49% 48% 45% 50% 51% 60% 50% 51% Seasonal49% 51% 52% 48% 56% 50% 51% 51% 52% 42% 50% Apparel- 51% 51% 50% 49% 48%45% 50% 51% 60% 50% 51% accessories Home 49% 51% 52% 48% 56% 50% 51% 51%52% 42% 50% assortment Auto- 51% 51% 50% 49% 48% 45% 50% 51% 60% 50% 51%hardware electronics 49% 51% 52% 48% 56% 50% 51% 51% 52% 42% 50% Toys51% 51% 50% 49% 48% 45% 50% 51% 60% 50% 51% Office 49% 51% 52% 48% 56%50% 51% 51% 52% 42% 50% Sports- 51% 51% 50% 49% 48% 45% 50% 51% 60% 50%51% outdoors b2b- 54% 51% 52% 48% 56% 50% 51% 51% 52% 42% 51% businessGrand 51% 51% 51% 48% 51% 48% 51% 52% 55% 47% 50% Total (All dates in2001)

Exception reports can also be made available. This type of report willdisplay the numbers of available items each day to help manage sitebreadth (see Table 4). It can work by evaluating current inventorylevels, the current velocity of that inventory, and forecasting itemsales with the most recent information. This evaluation can be governedby the following relationships.Number of Listings Remaining=Current Inventory/Current Lot SizeExpected Sell Out Date=Number Of Listings Remaining*(Duration+RestPeriod)+Today's Date

TABLE 4 Item Open Per Day Base Category 6/1 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/5 6/6 6/7 6/86/9 6/10 Total Books 12 17 20 21 18 19 20 23 16 15 181 computers 16 1415 17 20 21 18 19 20 23 183 seasonal 15 17 20 21 18 19 20 23 16 14 183Apparel- 14 17 20 21 18 19 20 23 16 22 190 accessories home 21 24 29 3026 27 29 33 23 21 263 assortment auto- 14 13 17 20 21 18 19 20 23 16 181hardware electronics 20 22 26 27 23 25 26 30 21 20 239 Toys 15 17 20 2118 19 20 23 16 15 184 Office 12 15 17 20 21 18 15 17 20 21 176 sports-12 9 17 20 21 18 19 20 23 16 175 outdoors b2b- 17 20 21 18 19 20 23 1613 10 177 business Grand 168 185 222 236 223 223 229 247 207 193 2,132Total (All dates in 2001)

A sales forecasting report can be made available as well (see Table 5).Based on the exception report and the margin reports, the sales forecastreport can give estimates of future sales by category given currentrecovery rates and inventory supplies. This evaluation can be governedby the following relationship.Forecast Sales=Audit Report*Exception Report*Average Cost by Category

TABLE 5 Forecasted Sales (Based on Past Recovery History) Base Category6/1 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/5 6/6 6/7 6/8 6/9 6/10 Total Books 54 77 90 95 81 8690 104 72 68 815 computers 10000 8750 9375 10625 12500 13125 11250 1187512500 14375 114375 Seasonal 525 595 700 735 630 665 700 805 560 490 6405apparel- 364 442 520 546 468 494 520 598 416 572 4940 accessories home965 1094 1287 1351 1158 1223 1287 1480 1030 965 11840 assortment auto-1470 1365 1785 2100 2205 1890 1995 2100 2415 1680 19005 hardwareElectronics 2243 2542 2990 3140 2691 2841 2990 3439 2392 2243 27508 toys315 357 420 441 378 399 420 483 336 315 3864 office 2400 3000 3400 40004200 3600 3000 3400 4000 4200 35200 sports- 1020 765 1445 1700 1785 15301615 1700 1955 1360 14875 outdoors b2b- 3825 4500 4725 4050 4275 45005175 3600 2925 2250 39825 business Grand 23181 23486 26737 28782 3037130352 29042 29583 28601 28517 278652 Total (All dates in 2001, allamounts in dollars)

Referring to FIG. 11, an alternative illustrative embodiment of a SIMSincludes a product listing rule page 54 that can be reached through theitem page and allows users to select between three types of rules. Thefirst type is an unspecified type, which allows the item to be treatedaccording to default site or category rules. The second type is ascheduled allocation type, which allows the user to reach a scheduledallocation rule page 56. The third is a price optimization type, whichcan operate in much the same way as is presented above in connectionwith the embodiment of FIGS. 1-10.

Referring to FIG. 12, the scheduled allocation page 56 includes achannel selection control 58, which enables a user to select a channelfor which the rule is to be edited. This control can allow differentrules to be created to operate simultaneously for different channels.Using this control, a user can therefore simultaneously try to selldifferent numbers of items through different channels, using mode 1,mode 2, or a combination of the two. For example, the user can attemptto sell a large number of items though its own web site using a priceoptimization rule and attempt to sell smaller quantities through thirdparty systems using scheduled allocation rule.

Feedback can be provided within a channel and/or between channels. Iflistings on a first channel stop doing well, for example, the SIMS canreduce the lot size on that channel and increase it on one or more otherchannels. For instance, a user could create a rule that would causelistings to be generated on a home site for 20 days, and then cause theremaining inventory to be liquidated through an auction provider.

The scheduled allocation page includes a number of additional controlsto specify scheduled allocation parameters, such as a listing type textbox, start and end text boxes, a duration text box, a rest period textbox, a reserve price text box, an initial price text box, and an initialquantity text box. A compound stop control is also provided to specify astop condition. Using the scheduled allocation page, a user can, forexample, create a series of weekly eight-hour auction listings withidentical predetermined opening and reserve prices, with listings beingposted until all product is sold out. Although this type of liquidationschedule does not exhibit performance feedback, it is believed toprovide a straightforward and useful way to schedule the liquidation ofsome types of lots of items.

Referring to FIG. 13, an item page 60 in this embodiment includesproduct information and a number of controls. These controls include acompound listing placement control 62 with a channel selection controland a submit button. The listing placement control allows the user tosimply list one or more items through one of the channels.

Referring also to FIG. 14, an edit automatic listing settings link 64 inthe item page 60 can lead the user to an automatic listings settingspage 68. This page can allow users to reset or disable automatic rulesfor an item. Resetting the automatic rules will cause the system toignore any previously-created listings the next time an automatic rulecreates a listing for the item. This allows the item to start fresh withinitial price settings rather than basing its price on a past pricehistory. Disabling rules prevents listings from being createdautomatically, but does not delete item-level rules. The user cantherefore undo this command to reinstate an automatic rule.

Referring also to FIG. 15, an edit item button 66 on the item page 60can lead the user to an item edit page 70. This page includes a numberof controls that allow the user to provide information about the item.This information can include item description items and salesparameters. The item description items can include a product name, anitem number/SKU, an image location, a shipping weight, and adescription. The sales parameters can include the quantity available,the retail price, the cost, and the target recovery rate. The salesparameters can also include default auction durations, start prices andbid increments.

Referring to FIG. 16, a rules report can be used to summarize all of therules for a series of items. This report can include links to the itempages and to the corresponding rules for those pages. Links can also beprovided to a site listing rule page that allows the default sitelisting rule type to be set to use price optimization rules or scheduledallocation rules.

In the embodiment presented, users interact with the server viahypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) over the span of one or more networkconnections. But numerous other platform technologies could be used toimplement part or all of the system, such as dedicated hardware devicesor simpler programmable devices interconnected by wireless or analognetworks. Connections between elements can be intermittent (e.g., e-mailconnections) or indirect. The function and structure of the variouselements shown can also be broken down in different ways than thoseshown in figures, with logic elements being combined, separated, orrecast as appropriate. And while the system's user interface is based onsoftware-based graphical user interface elements, these could be readilyrearranged in a variety of ways, and the user interface could eveninclude other implementation elements, such as physically actuatedcontrols or auditory prompts. In addition, while the system's userinterface elements are presented as displayed in pages, one of ordinaryskill in the art would recognize that they could also be displayed inother types of display regions, such as screens, cards, or windows. Andwhile the system is useful in liquidating surplus product inventory, itcan also be used for other types of transactions for a variety of typesof items, such as services or even intangible items.

The present invention has now been described in connection with a numberof specific embodiments thereof. However, numerous modifications whichare contemplated as falling within the scope of the present inventionshould now be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is thereforeintended that the scope of the present invention be limited only by thescope of the claims appended hereto. In addition, the order ofpresentation of the claims should not be construed to limit the scope ofany particular term in the claims.

1. A method of selling items in lots, comprising: defining, by one ormore servers, machine-readable business rules based on a target recoveryrate; and automatically creating a plurality of different offerings thateach offer one or more items in the lots based on the machine-readablebusiness rules, the automatically creating optimizing financial returnbased on the machine-readable business rules by using different offeringparameter values in creating each of the different offerings.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising adjusting an offering parametervalue in a second listing based on sales results of a first listing. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the offering parameter value is a secondoffering value.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the offering parametervalue is a second offering quantity.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe target cost recovery rate is a percentage of a cost for each item ineach lot.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein defining themachine-readable business rules is based on results from prior listings.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically creating comprisesusing exponential smoothing to derive parameters for the differentofferings.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating fixeddefault falling price parameters.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein thesecond listing is created for a second sales channel based on the firstlisting that is created for a first sales channel.
 10. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the results from prior listings includes financialmargins from prior listings.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising generating a report that forecasts a future operation of theoffering creation logic.
 12. A system comprising: means for defining, byone or more servers, machine-readable business rules based on a targetrecovery rate; and means for automatically creating a plurality ofdifferent offerings that each offer one or more items in the lots basedon the machine-readable business rules, the automatically creatingoptimizing financial return based on the machine-readable business rulesby using different offering parameter values in creating each of thedifferent offerings.
 13. The system of claim 12, further comprisingmeans for adjusting an offering parameter value in a second listingbased on sales results of a first listing.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the target cost recovery rate is a percentage of a cost for eachitem in each lot.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein defining themachine-readable business rules is based on results from prior listings.16. The system of claim 12, wherein the automatically creating comprisesusing exponential smoothing to derive parameters for the differentofferings.
 17. The system of claim 12, further comprising means forcreating fixed default falling price parameters.
 18. The system of claim13, wherein the second listing is created for a second sales channelbased on the first listing that is created for a first sales channel.19. The system of claim 12, further comprising means for generating areport that forecasts a future operation of the offering creation logic.